


Waking the Fire — Fragments

by Stefanyeah



Series: The Fire Chronicles [4]
Category: Muse (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-20 02:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15523590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stefanyeah/pseuds/Stefanyeah
Summary: A few more peeks into this world of dragons and riders.





	1. Stuart

**Author's Note:**

> A little scene from Matt’s and Asche’s time in that little village by the Spiet that I just could not fit into the actual story…

Stuart stood next to the door of the barn where that Rider and his dragon had settled down a week ago. Tianna and him sure weren’t happy with having the most notorious pair of Dragon Riders intruding their lives.

However, they had saved the village, even if they were only just done with burying that gang of bandits yesterday. And Garnet was absolutely smitten with that pair and her new dragon friend. Thus Tianna and Stuart had to begrudgingly accept their presence. What they wouldn’t accept however was that shabby, rude bastard scouting the woods and hunt hares with their daughter; especially after Tianna had forbidden Garnet to.

Stuart knew that Tianna already had given Bellamy a piece of her mind, but that wouldn’t stop Stuart from doing so as well; even if it meant facing that vicious black dragon as well.

What made him stop bursting into the barn, however, were the voices he could hear from behind the door. So Garnet had sneaked out of her room again.

„Matthew?“ Stuart heard Garnet’s voice.

Stuart only heard a muffled grunt through the door.

„I… I am sorry,“ Garnet rasped.

„Are you now?“ Bellamy retorted and Stuart couldn’t decipher any emotion from his voice.

„Are you angry at me?“

„No. Just disappointed.“

„I will never again lie to you, I swear,“ Garnet whined. „Please, forgive me.“

„How can I believe you right after you did lie to me?“

Stuart sighed. They should have told Bellamy about Garnet’s _habit_. Maybe he wasn’t quite to blame for taking Garnet to hunt after all.

„Please, Matthew,“ Garnet’s voice came through sobs. „I won’t disappoint you again.“

Silence followed that was only disturbed by muffled sobs.

„You know, if you ever again lie to us, we won’t forgive you again,“ Bellamy eventually stated.

Stuart stared at the door for a while before shrugging and turning around. He walked back into their house and found a bottle of last year’s cider. When he had heard his daughter creeping back into her room, he made his way back to the barn.

He knocked, waiting until the Rider opened the door.

„Here to give me bloody hell as well?“ Bellamy grunted and took a step back to allow Stuart into the barn.

„I’ve heard you and Garnet talking,“ Stuart stated as he stepped inside. He stopped and stared at the dragon while the door clicked shut behind him. Grey eyes looked down at him, and Stuart remembered fire and burning humans all too vividly, could remember the atrocious smell and horrid screams.

Bellamy just hobbled past him and picked up a large brush, busying himself with rubbing the dragon’s neck. A low rumble was heard and the dragon closed her eyes. Bellamy just giggled at her while Stuart almost pissed himself at the sudden growl.

He noticed a few wooden boxes that were close to enough to reach without stumbling over his wobbly legs on his way towards them. The deep rumbling made him nervous, even when he realised that it was a sound of pleasure.

He lifted the bottle of cider and uncorked it before taking a big gulp from it. He watched the Rider and his dragon. They acted differently around each other than the rumours painted them. When Bellamy had put the brush away, the dragon pushed her head against his chest, the gesture gentle and speaking of deep care for the small man.

Stuart took another gulp from the cider and held it out to Bellamy who had just turned around to him. „Garnet has a habit of… well, bending the truth when she wants to get her way.“

„I noticed,“ Bellamy replied as he made his way towards Stuart. He let himself fall onto the box next to Stuart and accepted the cider. He took a sip that almost emptied half the bottle and handed it back to Stuart. „Fucking good stuff. I hope you’ve got more of this.“

Stuart lifted the bottle to eye height to look at the poor remnants. He held the bottle out to Bellamy again. „Did you know she lied to you?“

„Yes,“ Bellamy replied and finished the cider. He put the bottle onto the ground and stretched his legs, grunting and rubbing his left leg.

„And yet you chose to believe her words,“ Stuart stated. „What should I make of that now?“

Bellamy looked up from his leg and rolled his shoulders before pulling off his tunic. Stuart stared at the tattoos revealed, but his eyes finally alighted on a long scar on the left arm. He had heard about Riders healing all their wounds quickly and completely thanks to their dragons’ healing skills. So whatever had caused that scar must have been vicious and deep.

„She did admit to lying rather often a while back,“ Bellamy said while tossing his tunic aside. „I had told her I wouldn’t question her even once. She now learned the importance of not lying to those that trust her, didn’t she? This was a much better lesson than just calling her out on her lie. Now Garnet had to deal with the consequence.“

„Your upbringing methods are surely unusual.“

„As long as they work,“ Bellamy shrugged. He pinched his nose and glanced at his dragon before looking back at Stuart. „Do you think they do?“

Stuart stared at Bellamy. He had not expected the Rider to ask him for parenting advice. „In this special case, it might just be working,“ he eventually replied.

Bellamy nodded and pinched his nose once more before running his hand through the mess of hair and trinkets on his head. „How are you not scared shitless of fucking everything up? How do you know you’re not making mistakes that you will only realise far too late?“

Stuart shifted and looked down at the empty bottle. Had he known how this conversation would pan out, he would have brought two bottles. „You just always do your best,“ he said. „You repeat what your parents did I guess.“

Bellamy scoffed and shook his head. „I sure as hell will not repeat what those moronic zounderkites thought parenting was.“

His dragon shifted closer and nudged her snout against his head. Stuart stared at her and clutched the box he was sitting on.

„You,“ Stuart tried and cleared his throat before starting anew. „You consider Garnet as your daughter.“

He was met with both dragon and Rider staring back at him.

„ _She’s our daughter as much as Snowball should be your son,_ “ those weird, doubled voices came from them.

Stuart squeaked and fell off his box. He grunted and forced himself to crawl back onto it. „When you had finished those bandits and came to Garnet and Snowball, I noticed you shaking.“

„We could have lost them,“ Bellamy whispered. „We could have failed and they could have died. Those cunts… they could have… they…“ He fell silent and drew his legs up, hugging them close.

Stuart swallowed and nodded. He stared at the empty bottle again. He really should have brought four bottles. He looked at the door and sighed before standing. „I’ll be back in a few,“ he muttered.

A few minutes later, he was sitting on the box next to Bellamy and Asche again. This time, both men were tending to their own bottles of cider, though.

„So, you took Garnet out to hunt hares,“ Stuart stated.

Bellamy nodded and took a gulp from his cider. „Snowball loves hunting small animals, too.“

„Don’t you think it's a bit too early to be taking a little girl to hunt hares?“

„She already learned to skin them after watching me doing it for a few days,“ Bellamy replied. „No harm in learning the first step now, too.“

Stuart sighed. Maybe Bellamy was right about that. „Are you going to teach her fighting as well?“

Bellamy released a surprisingly high-pitched laughter and shook his head. „I learnt how to fight by trying to not get beaten up myself. I’d suck as a teacher, because I’d beat my student up every time.“

„Until they’d beat you up,“ Stuart pointed out.

„That would be a very stupid thing to do,“ Bellamy retorted. He lifted his bottle towards Stuart as a toast. „We win or we die. Winning without killing us will lead to your demise.“

„You didn’t win against Ravindra and yet you live.“

Bellamy grunted and downed his remaining cider. „And we’re not done with him,“ he growled, grey bleeding into his eyes and his pupils stretching to vertical slits. „ _He will burn_.“

Stuart swallowed. He was sure he would never get used to that dragon voice.

„Garnet and Snowball, will they be like you one day?“ he whispered. „Will they talk in shared voices and change their eyes and arms?“

Bellamy looked down at his feet and put the empty bottle next to the first one. „Only if they manage to acquire it in a less self-destructive way…“ he finally replied. He sighed when he saw Stuart frown at him and point at his left leg. „I don’t wish anything remotely as this shit on my children.“ He rolled his left foot before leaning back onto his elbows as well as possible on his box. „Don’t look at me like that. Thriving for closeness is natural for human and dragon pairs. If you want to wax poetry, you can say it’s like being two parts of one soul.“

Stuart looked down at the other man. „The thought of another conscience seeing my thoughts and maybe even taking over my body is terrifying.“

„Being apart is being incomplete,“ Bellamy replied and reached out to stroke Asche’s snout. „To us _not_ having our other part in our minds is terrifying.“

„You’re surprisingly open about your whole bond,“ Stuart stated.

„Because you need to understand,“ Bellamy retorted and grunted as he pushed himself into an upright sitting position again. „You need to understand for your children’s sake.“

Stuart looked down at the bottle in his hands. Bellamy had referring to ‚his children‘. „I don’t think I can accept a dragon as my son,“ he dared to admit.

A tattooed hand pushed into his sight and grabbed the bottle. He didn’t object when the bottle was plucked from his hands.

„And that’s why you’ll have to endure Asche and me. We won’t allow you to make my fucking parent’s mistakes.“

 

Two trips to the house and four more bottles of cider later, they had moved on to first names and were giggling about tales of the foolish youth. Most of the cider had been consumed by Matthew and Stuart was wondering how much more booze it would take for the Rider to even show a slight slurring.

He looked at the dragon next to them. Asche had curled up and was asleep, soft snoring heard every now and then. Matthew turned his head to follow Stuart’s eyes. He smiled softly before looking back at Stuart.

„We know each other’s dreams.“

„Do you visit each other?“

„No,“ Matthew giggled. „It’s more like sharing the knowledge while it happens.“

„And when you’re dreaming at the same time?“

Matthew hummed and looked at the collection of bottles he had finished. Eventually, he shrugged. „I’m asleep when that happens, guess I’m just always too tired to remember.“

A creak came from the door and both men and a suddenly very awake dragon looked at the door. Tianna stood there, her blond hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. She was wrapped in her linen coat and holding a candle up.

„What are you still doing here?“ she croaked and coughed, rubbing her throat with her free hand. „I got worried about you being absent in the dead of night.“

„I’m sorry,“ Stuart replied and stood. „We got talking and must have forgotten the time. I’ll be with you right away.“

She nodded and narrowed her eyes at Matthew before turning her back on them and walking back into the house.

Stuart rolled his shoulders and glanced out of the windows. The moon wasn’t visible anymore from any of them, so it might have gone past midnight already. „I’ll take my leave,“ he said and stood.

Matthew nodded and stood as well. He walked over to a chest next to Asche and pulled down the old blanket that had been lying on it.

„Are you sure you want to stay here?“ Stuart asked. „There _is_ a spare bedroom you’re invited to use.“

„No, I’m perfectly comfortable here. I don’t like beds,“ Matthew replied while dragging the blanket towards his dragon. She lifted her wing and he tossed the blanket beneath the wing. „I’d be grateful if I could nick some hay from somewhere, though.“

Stuart watching him pulling and pushing the blanket further against the dragon’s side before settling down on it.

„You’re a weird one,“ Stuart whispered.

„So people keep telling me for some reason,“ came a voice, muffled by the grey dragon wing hiding the speaker.


	2. Illustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My Baby belongs to me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little joke by Tamar, I don’t even remember anymore why and how, but yeah, let’s have some iconic Dirty Dancing moves.
> 
> And that’s the conclusion for Waking the Fire. It’s so weird, having this written for months, taken on Matt’s habit of swearing a bit too well and grown to know our fishwife Rider, friends and family so well… Posting rushed by in a flash. :O

And the little WiP video:  



End file.
